Guests had been asked to glam up their sneakers for a stroll under the stars at the inaugural Starlight & Sneakers Gala Greenhouse Garden Party at Rock City Gardens to benefit The Arc of Indian River County. But the even the sparkly sequins and glitter on their fancy footwear could not outshine the beauty of the venue.
Owners Rhonda and Tom Lowe had donated the use of their seven-acre property and the setting was stunning, even to those who have attended previous events there. Rows of potted plants had been temporarily displaced from the spacious greenhouses, enabling guests to enjoy dancing to Gypsy Lane and a delicious buffet of salmon and Cornish hens.
Since they would be traversing grassy and graveled pathways, guests had been encouraged to wear sneakers – smartened with a bit of sparkle. The more creative attendees pointed their toes and put their best foot forward, their sneakers embellished with stickers, sequins, pom-poms and even feathers. The result was a fun, kicked-back affair, where casual garden party attire competed for attention with beautiful springtime flowers bursting with color.
The Arc (previously known as SunUp ARC) provides services to more than 180 special needs individuals affected by intellectual, developmental, emotional or traumatic brain disabilities. Proceeds from the event will be directed to the organization’s Residential Capital Campaign to build supervised residential homes on its 5th Street SW campus for special needs adults. The first building is already under construction, with completion tentatively planned for the end of July.
“There will be six units, which could take up to eight years,” said Chuck Bradey, Arc executive director. “It will depend on donors, permits, etc.”
“I have always helped places that work with developmentally challenged individuals,” said board member Dr. Ed Smith, who has been involved more than 20 years with similar organizations. “It is just a continuing effort. My training was in psychology and so my kinds of skills led me to wanting to help others.”
“This is the first annual Sneakers and Starlight so it seemed fun. It was easy to talk our friends into coming, too, because it was something different. It is just gorgeous and people are going to just have a great time,” said wife Susan Smith.
Board chair Dick Pippert gratefully recognized event chair Joan Black and introduced guest speaker Tony Mancuso, whose son has severe mental and physical handicaps and relies on The Arc for training and support.
Mancuso’s talk focused on the need for parents to know that their special needs children will be cared for when they are no longer able to do so.
“The Arc provides the stability, the consistency and the love to care for these kids who age out of the system and who would have no other resources to help without them,” said Mancuso. “We’re getting older as parents and it is getting tougher and tougher, and one day we are going to have to let go. It gives me a lot of comfort to know that The Arc will be there for him.”
